Circuit breakers are commonplace for use in residential and commercial applications. Certain circuit breakers, as shown in FIG. 1, can include a trip mechanism assembly 100 that includes an upper toggle link 102 that is coupled to a cradle 104 wherein the cradle 104 is pivotal about a pivot end 104P relative to a frame or case. The upper toggle link 102 includes an open-slotted end 106 having an inverted u-shape as is shown in FIG. 1. The open-slotted end 106 of the upper toggle link 102 includes a pivot feature 106P that allows a lower toggle link 108 including a toggle pin 110 to rotate in the pivot joint 106P during most of the excursion of the trip mechanism 100. The upper toggle link 102 is pivotable about a mid-pivot 104M of the cradle 104 at an upper end, and the second toggle link 108 is pivotable about a lower pivot 112 on a crossbar assembly 114. Crossbar assembly 114 includes a crossbar housing 114H and one or more moveable contact fingers 115 including moveable electrical contacts 115C at an end thereof. A latch 116 interfaces with a latch portion 104L of the cradle 104 to release the cradle and open the electrical contacts, i.e., separate the moveable contact 115C from a stationary contact (not shown). Having an open-slotted end 106, as shown in FIG. 1, vastly simplifies the circuit breaker assembly process by allowing the open-slotted end 106 to slide over the toggle pin 110. However, under certain circumstances, this open-slotted toggle configuration may contribute to performance concerns.
Accordingly, a need therefore exists to provide improved circuit breakers and trip mechanism assemblies and toggle links that provide improved performance.